Baked Pita Chips

Karen Solomon, author of Can It, Bottle It, Smoke It: And Other Kitchen Projects and Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects (among other books), bakes cakes in canning jars; these portable single-serving desserts are great for gifts or perfect for picnics. If you want to try it, here's her recipe. Try our Strawberry-Blueberry Crisp Baked in a Jar recipe too!

If a fire escape is the closest you come to a backyard, it shouldn’t stop you from smoking. Former CHOW.com Senior Food Editor Jill Santopietro says that turning your wok into a smoker doesn’t take much effort. All you need is aluminum foil, a round cooling rack, and finely ground wood chips, available online or at hardware stores or some cooking supply stores. If you don’t have wood chips, you can use a 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup rice, and 1/4 cup oolong tea leaves mixed with 2 tablespoons water for more of a tea smoke. Indoor smokers take note: Open your windows and remove your smoke detector (but don’t forget to put it back when you’re done). Find plenty of smoking recipes and other tips here!

CHOW.com's Suzy Brannon demonstrates a simple test to use on baking powder to avoid any kind of disaster while making baked treats!